I get thousands of cold sales emails, but I’ve only replied to a handful.

Extremely few do them right.

Today, you’ll learn step-by-step how to write sales emails that convert.

And it all starts with this truth:

You hate boring emails

Sorry for being captain obvious here… but nobody, including you, will convert on an irrelevant and boring email.

Maybe with a reply, but usually, “Please stop spamming me with nonsense.”

Most cold emails fail because they:

1. Lack personalization
2. Lack relevancy
3. Are templated
4. Feel intrusive

Luckily, these are easy to overcome.

Step #1: Find relevancy

Most of the cold emails that I get dive head-first into the offer, which is often of zero interest to me. 

For example, lead scraping, lists, or cold outreach services.

I’ll never buy any of it.

The first step is obvious, make sure your recipients have an interest in your services. Or that there’s a real challenge to solve.

I approach this by analyzing my recipient's website or social media profiles.

There, I see what needs they have and can sense if they're aware of them.

For example, let’s say I’m a freelance web developer, and my service includes optimizing the HTML code of websites for maximum loading speed.

I’d find a company and ensure that their website and UX are important to them.

A giveaway may be seeing they invest a lot into their CMS and design.

If they have, I’d do a quick audit to find performance and SEO bottlenecks in their code — which there almost always are.

Now I know my services are relevant to that company.

In this example, presenting issues the company was unaware of that they had makes your offer both relevant and establishes you as a helpful guide.

Both are crucial for cold email conversions.

Step #2: Form a connection

Most cold emails feel cold because they are. Other than your name and company name, there’s usually nothing of substance to form a connection.

Who wants to sit through a demo and buy from a complete stranger? Very few. It’s evident in the low conversion rates these types of emails have.

Here’s a better approach: create a connection.

Spend a few minutes researching your prospect.

There’s often tons of information to find online. Use it to form a bridge between yourself and your prospect.

For example, they hiked a mountain you also hiked a few years ago. Use that as something to connect with.

Other things can include:

• Job happenings and events
• Favorite sports teams
• Travel destinations
• Role changes
• Music taste
• Hobbies
• Pets

... and so on.

Make it something you’d bond over with a friend, something casual and fun.

The bond no longer makes you a random, faceless internet person desperate to sell your solution. 

It makes you a new friend.

Step #3: Write like a friend

Most cold emails are soulless email blasts and sequences.

It’s obvious when the email lacks personalization. Or when the person pastes the wrong company name…

To kill conversions even more, the first email is usually very aggressive:

“Hi, [copy paste] I’m X. I do Y. Let me steal 30 minutes of your time. Bye.”

No one will sacrifice half an hour to demo a solution they don’t need — especially if there’s no connection or value in the email. 

Writing like a robot is a turnoff. Instead, write like a friend.

Here's what I mean.

Bad email example:

“Hi, Mr. Sundin,

We help businesses like PelleCopy optimize their schedule for higher productivity and ROI.

I want to show you in a 30-minute demo.

Best regards,

[name]”

Good email example:

"Hey Pelle,

You’re managing all of PelleCopy’s channels yourself, right?

Writing the PelleCopy Letter, keeping up with LinkedIn while managing multiple customers at the same time?

That's a lot to do.

I know because I did the same thing.

And it stressed me the f out…

Despite how productive my day was, I’d always feel like there was more to do.

Then it hit me:

My system for project tracking was all over the place.

That’s why I created [solution].

Here’s a quick video I recorded for you:

[video]

Let me know if it looks cool.

Cheers,

[name]

P.S. I saw on your LinkedIn that you were in Portugal. Looks like you had a blast despite the crazy wind. I went to the Algarve and had surfing lessons. It did not end well… here's a picture, haha.

[image]”

The email isn’t better because it’s longer.

The email is better because it doesn’t feel like a robot wrote it.

That’s the way to write cold emails that convert.

TL;DR: Action plan

1. Find relevancy

2. Form a connection

3. Write like a friend

Remember: No one will convert on an irrelevant and boring email.

Get help or more tips

Copywriting: Position your B2B brand as the winning solution with striking copywriting that delights and converts.

Strategy: Clarify your strategic foundation to ensure your marketing engine is built to attract the right business and scale to the stars.

Read previous newsletters on my blog.